Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Have a Good Workout



Philippians 2:10-13 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Having just returned from a Mega-Mid-West vacation visiting family in three states, I’ve gotten kind of out of my workout exercise routine at the local fitness gym. Having lost almost 45 pounds, a couple weeks off the regular practice of pound melting cardio vascular work outs, along with some fine dining and amazing home cooking, surely set me back on my diet & training goals for a healthy lifestyle. But the family ties made it all worth every second. But there is no vacation from being a child of God because it is not what we do, but who we are. It’s vitally important to understand and work out the difference. I read that emphasis on the perfect obedience of Christ is essential to the gospel message. God's standard is perfection, but we are incapable of following God perfectly in our sinful flesh, so we are utterly unable to gain a right standing with the Lord by our works. But another, the Lord Jesus Christ has obeyed God flawlessly, and that our only hope of being set right with our holy Creator is to trust in the person and work of the Savior alone. His record of perfect obedience is reckoned to us when we trust in Him, and we become citizens of the kingdom of Heaven.

The citizens of the kingdom desire to obey the King, their Lord. Christians don’t work for their salvation, but work out their salvation for it is God who works in the Believer. Christians live differently than the citizens of this world, and do so in the power of the Spirit, repenting of sin and thanking the Lord of His great gift of salvation. Seeing the world through Christ and walking in the Spirit with that eternal perspective, following the Spirit’s guidance as He speaks to us in Scripture, seeking first the kingdom and His righteousness to both will and do that which is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.

Ephesians 1:3-8Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Have a good workout.
In Christ, Brian

2 comments:

child of God said...

Hi Brian,
I'm glad you had a good vacation and bonding time with family. :) You are so right in saying that we cannot take a vacation from being a child of God, for this is who we are!

Nice to have you back, I love reading what you have to share with us.

Blessings,
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Brian Ray Todd said...

Thank you dear sister in Christ for your kind words. We walk this path on this journey that we call life, with this eternal truth: "God is good, all the time". Blessings to you and yours.